Animal Models

I have had the privilege of photographing wildlife at different game model locations and zoos.

Mostly my animals have been photographed in the wild, so I am always a little apprehensive about how a shoot with captive animals will go.

However, almost all published photos of wolves and mountain lions and other shy creatures of the wild have been photographed in places like Animals of Montana.

The result of all this is, that, although you have animals in camera range, it is still up to you to react to animals behaving naturally and to be ready to capture the definitive moments. It is definitely a challenge, but also very rewarding, because many of the photos I got could not be duplicated in the wild even with years of effort.

I seldom leave large unfocused areas near the foreground of my photographs, but I made an exception here. I think the blurry wolf in the front adds a slightly sinister element to the stare down. Coupled with the low point of view, it also makes me feel as if I am the wolf returning the stare.